


Textbook Tactics

by JasnNCarly



Category: General Hospital, One Life to Live
Genre: Crossover Pairings, F/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-03
Updated: 2011-06-03
Packaged: 2020-05-13 11:04:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19249900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JasnNCarly/pseuds/JasnNCarly
Summary: ..when you can figure everything out except the truth





	Textbook Tactics

  
_*Beautiful Banner by Melinda_

A fire burned inside of her, fueled by the bitter knowledge that her sisters would be much better in this situation than she was.   
  
When she tried to bait him with her interest in other men, he easily gave up and excused himself from the conversation. When she tried to be seductive, wear something slightly off the shoulder or a skirt higher than she was comfortable with, he offered his jacket or ignored her skin entirely.  
  
They had become friends in their freshman year of college, bumping into each other because their forces were buried in a novel (hers romance, his a graphic novel). Now, almost two years later, she felt nothing had moved forward.  
  
“Shane?”  
  
He spoke with a mouth full of food, “Yeah?”  
  
“Are you into guys?” Molly felt ashamed for jumping the gun as he nearly choked on his cheeseburger, “It’s okay if you are. I just—I was curious.”  
  
When he insisted he wasn’t, his eyes avoidant of hers, her mind went into overdrive. If Shane was into women, what was wrong with her? Was she really that simple or bland that she couldn’t attract her nerdy counterpart?   
  
Frustration was the last emotion she needed during her midterms, yet she could not avoid the emotion when he was so near - bringing her caramel lattes to stay awake or popcorn to keep her from chewing on her pencil.  
  
He took a seat across from her in the hushed library, tables full of panicked students cramming for their tests.  
  
Molly’s eyes wandered upward even as her head remained tilted towards her book, watching him focus easily on his work.   
  
Running his large hand over his short dirty blond spikes, he narrowed his eyes towards the page.  
  
She began to breathe heavily, the anger dancing in her veins until she swore her whole body was rumbling; his eyes wandered up to meet hers, azure magnets pulling her ebony gaze into his without any effort at all.  
  
Arching his brow, Shane kept his voice to a low whisper, “You all right?”  
  
“No.” Shoving the items into her backpack, she stood to her feet with the shake of her head, “I need to get back to my room.”  
  
“Okay,” Shane started to pack up, ready to follow.  
  
“I’ll be fine.” She threw her backpack over her shoulder, grabbing her coffee cup, “I’ll just call you later.”  
  
“It’s kinda late, Mol. You probably shouldn’t cross campus all alone.”  
  
“You saying I can’t take care of myself?”  
  
“No!”  
  
“Shh!!!” The nearby tables shot them dirty looks along with their unified command.  
  
Unable to take it anymore, she stormed out of the library with the hopes Shane would just leave well enough alone. The one time she wasn’t trying to get his attention, she had it all.  
  
Every time she picked up her speed, she could hear his sneakers not two seconds behind.   
  
Normally, this would be the part where she hoped for an epic moment. Some proclamation of his love and desire for her, the fierce urge to protect her; instead, he maintained the role of her boring best friend and said nothing while stalking her back to her dorm room.   
  
She stopped suddenly, refusing to look back at him, and reached into her pocket, “One more step and I mace you, Morasco.”  
  
“If I was a different kind of guy, I’d let you stand there and think about who’s really following you.” Shane came to a strong stand in front of her, staring down into the bottomless pits of her infuriated eyes and offering a small smile, “You’re lucky you gotta a friend like me.”  
  
“Yeah,” Molly pushed past him, rolling her eyes at his small sound of pain, and mumbled, “so lucky.”   
  
“What’s the problem? Mid-terms got you stressing or what?” He took a few steps forward, getting in front of her once again, with his features now clouded with concern, “Something happen back home?”  
  
“No, Port Charles is just fine. Still standing. Mid-terms will be fine. Aces as always.”  
  
“Oh, so it’s just a girl thing?”  
  
“A girl thing?”  
  
“Yeah, something I really do not want to know.”  
  
“Shane, do you think about what you’re saying before you spit out or is your filter on permanent hiatus?” The moment the words spewed themselves so venomously from her lips, she froze once more and shut her eyes, “I’m—I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”  
  
“It’s all right.”  
  
“No, it’s not. I know you—I shouldn’t have said that.” Molly could feel her heart crack at the idea of judging him, yet two seconds later it was fluttering at the sight of his half grin that assured her that no harm was done. She pouted her way to a seat on a bench nearby and waited for him to occupy the space next to her before continuing, “After what happened to you in high school, I know you better than anyone are very thoughtful and considerate and—“  
  
“Mol, I’m not a saint.”   
  
She felt a small smile forming on her lips when his fingers brushed aside some of her wild strands of hair, his eyes keeping hers in a hold which was impossible to escape.   
  
It was at a moment like this where she sent him every signal to make it memorable; yet he did what he had always done - dropping his hand and allowing his gaze to leave hers.   
  
Molly pondered whether she was as brave as some of the women in her favorite novels, bold enough to seize the moment rather than expecting the man to make a move, but she lost nerve with each second that passed.  
  
However, when his hand found hers – his fingers sliding between hers and wrapping themselves securely, she could feel her hopes soaring to new heights.   
  
He threw his head playfully to the side, tugging at her hand, “Let’s get you back to your room.”  
  
She met his eyes and stifled a bitter laugh, aware she was crushing harder than ever before.


End file.
